Priorities for Sales Contracting

Yesterday I led a webinar for Revitas in which we reviewed some of the pressing issues facing those responsible for sales contracting.  The program focused on three areas:

• pricing
• mobility
• analytics

Today’s competitive landscape demands a contracting process that delivers speed, intelligence, flexibility and control. We are seeing corporations increasingly focused on building from underlying systems that deliver control to a focus on competitive advantage – hence the selection of the three areas above.

Our recent work on ‘the future of contracting’ identified the growing importance of technology to improve contracting and commercial capability. The webinar expanded on this by looking at some specific themes. For example, among the issues on pricing, we discussed integration with CRM for value pricing; performance -based contracts; P&L management at the account or contract level; and improved trade-off between negotiated terms and price. The topic of mobility included contract related ‘apps’; customer self-service and ‘optioneering; and real-time review through electronic contracting. In discussing the potential from analytics, we focused on data that can aid simplification, the management of risk, improved customer relationships and business innovation.

A lively Q&A session expanded on many of these themes, to provide further examples and insights to the priorities for Sales Contracting in 2013.

I will be happy to provide anyone interested with a copy of the charts. To view a recording of the webinar, you should visit the Revitas website (www.revitasinc.com).